BELLINGHAM – A Bellingham woman, armed with video evidence, has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that two Bellingham police officers violated her civil rights by illegally entering her apartment, falsely arresting her and using excessive force.

Holly Graham, 29, filed the suit on Thursday against officers David Ayotte and John Melanson Jr. for their actions on Oct. 6, 2012, when they arrested Graham for assault and battery on a police officer.

Graham’s attorney, Howard Friedman, said the video taken on his client’s cell phone during the arrest tells the entire story.

"I think that video says it all," Friedman said. "I think it shows excessive force and a false arrest. It can’t be disputed that he swears at her three times. Officers are supposed to treat citizens politely … they behaved inappropriately."

The officers went to Graham’s Pulaski Boulevard apartment looking for her friend, who had three warrants for her arrest for drug and larceny charges, according to court documents. Ayotte’s affidavit, filed in Milford District Court, says that the officers noticed the apartment’s door ajar and entered because they thought someone was home and because of a history of break-ins at that address.

Graham’s complaint says that the officers forced open the door, breaking the lock and causing the doorknob to hit the wall and damage the plaster.

Ayotte said that Graham was agitated and pursued the officers as they left the complex, videotaping them walking down a flight of stairs, yelling that they entered her apartment without a warrant.

"As she was following me and basically rushing me down the stairs, I noticed she had a steel fork in her hand with the steel tines protruding from her grasp," Ayotte wrote. "I felt threatened and at a disadvantage because I was aware of Graham’s past criminal history and violent outbursts."

The patrolmen tried to wrest the fork away from Graham and a struggle ensued, according to the affidavit. Ayotte said the fork stuck him in the side of his head leaving "abrasions."

The video taken by Graham shows the officers walking down a flight of stairs as she follows, questioning where the warrant is and demanding to know if they were really responding to a noise complaint.

There is a struggle and then the video shows Ayotte putting Graham's hands behind her back and him saying: "Who the (expletive) do you think you are? You’re going to jail now, (expletive)."

Friedman said the video also clears his client of all wrongdoing and was a major factor in a district court judge's ruling to dismiss the case.

"She’s questioning them because they lied about why they were there," Friedman said. "She doesn’t threaten to stab him with the fork or say she’s going to stab him. I thought she was remarkably restrained given what was going on."

Graham told WCVB-TV Channel 5 that she had the fork because she had been cooking dinner when the police arrived and she forgot she was even holding it.

"He grabs the hand with the fork and, if at that point the fork touches him, then he’s the one controlling her hand," Friedman said.

Bellingham Police Chief Gerard Daigle said in an email Friday that he has reviewed the film and circumstances of the case.

"I can at a minimum say that I stand by the actions taken by my officers at the time," Daigle said.

Daigle told WCVB, a Daily News media partner, his department did not conduct an internal investigation.

Friedman said it's concerning that the police chief decided not to investigate, especially given the video.

"It’s a bad sign for the department because they’re supposed to investigate all citizen complaints," Friedman said. "The chief is saying you can (swear at) civilians. If the chief says he’s not investigating because they’ve done nothing wrong, it allows these officers to do whatever they want."

Town officials on Friday said they had not yet been served with the suit. However, they were aware of a complaint that Graham had filed with the department.

The complaint filed in the federal court in Boston said Graham is seeking compensation for the officers’ violation of her civil rights.

"We hope that as a result of the case there’ll be positive changes in the police department," Friedman said.

In 2012, the Bellingham police department arrested Graham two other times.

The day before her arrest for assaulting a police officer, Graham was arrested for shoplifting from a supermarket and later ordered to pay $50 restitution, court documents show.

In February, Bellingham police charged Graham with assault and battery, misdemeanor breaking and entering and disorderly conduct. According to court documents, police alleged that Graham attacked another woman with a volley of punches; the charges were eventually dismissed, though, due to a "lack of prosecution."

Graham was also arrested in 2008 on charges of driving without a license and providing a false name/address.

Lindsay Corcoran can be reached at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or mtota@wickedlocal.com.